kurokonobasukefandomcom-20200223-history
Taiga Kagami
|kanji = 火神 大我 |gender = Male |age = 16 |height = 190 cm |weight = 82 kg |team = Seirin |position = Power Forward |talent = Jumping Power |first appearance manga = Chapter 1 |first appearance anime = Episode 1 |vomic voice = Katsuyuki Konishi |anime voice = Yūki Ono}} Taiga Kagami is the 2nd main protagonist of the manga Kuroko no Basuke as well as being the ace and power forward of Seirin High. He is Tetsuya Kuroko's basketball colleague and friend. He is determined to defeat the Generation of Miracles and become the best in Japan. Appearance Kagami is very muscular for a high school boy. He is very tall, which gives him an overwhelming aura, some say he resembles a tiger.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 74, page 8 He has dark red hair and red eyes. His eyes are also very narrow and his eyebrows are split. He wears the jersey with the number 10 and wears black and red basketball shoes. He is also occasionally seen with a metal necklace with a ring on it, that represents his friendship with Tatsuya Himuro. When he is seen in his school uniform, he keeps his vest unzipped, with a white shirt underneath. Personality Kagami is very ambitious, stubborn and determined. He refuses to give up in a difficult situation and is very head strong. He is mostly known for his undying and furious fighting spirit. He enjoys to play against strong opponents and sees no point in playing basketball when there are no stronger opponents. The down-side of this, is that he is also very hot-headedKuroko no Basuke chapter 83, page 6 and has a short temper. When Kuroko brought Tetsuya #2 to the training, it is revealed that Kagami is scared of dogs.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 74, page 9 This fear originates from his time in America, where he was once bitten by a dog. He overcame this fear when he realized that Tetsuya #2 is good for the team and petted it. He is also a glutton and is able to eat at least five times a normal meal. He is shown to be a great cook. During the series and especially after the Interhigh and during the Winter Cup, Kagami has matured a lot. Instead of going up against every provocation and becoming hot-headed quickly, he thinks before he acts and has developed some sort of hindsight that lets him simulate a possible one-on-one battle. Even though that he still hates losing, he has somewhat took peace with it. Now, he has become a much more clever player that doesn't plunge into battles without thinking first.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 117, page 10 History In third grade, Kagami moved to the States and attended school there. He had a hard time making friends because of his foreign appearance, but he met Tatsuya Himuro, who invited him to play street basketball with him. Kagami accepted and made his first friend. Kagami, who was still a beginner back then, admired Himuro's talent in basketball and how he made friends that way. When he asked Himuro how to get friends, Himuro told him it came because of basketball, and asked Kagami to play basketball and Himuro would train him. Himuro taught him a lot and Kagami quickly improved and he also made friends. Himuro and Kagami grew closer to each other Kagami saw Himuro as an older brother. In an act of kindness, Himuro bought two rings, gave one to Kagami and told him that those rings are the proof that they're brothers.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 76, page 9 Three years later, because Himuro was one year older than Kagami, Himuro graduated before him. They lost eachother out of sight, until they reunited one year later. Kagami was seen playing basketball and he was invited by some boys to play with their team. They told him he'd be of great value in the competition against another team, with the winner getting the court. The boys tell him that the other team recently got a strong player and Kagami is interested. He decides to join their match and is amazed when he sees Himuro there. Himuro tells hims to play fair and square, hinting that he shouldn't go easy just because they know each other. Kagami agrees and he wins against Himuro for the first time.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 76, page 12 After that, they played every week and they each lost and won the same amount. After 98 games, Himuro tells Kagami that if he loses the next game, he won't see Kagami as his little brother anymore, because the big brother is always stronger than the little brother. In the 99th game, Kagami finds out that Himuro has injured his wrist. Himuro shoots, misses and Kagami runs for the fast break. He goes up for the lay-up, but couldn't bear to win against Himuro and misses on purpose. After the game, Himuro punches Kagami. He tells him that the next match, they'll bet on the ring that represents their friendship. He says to treat the previous game as a draw. And tells him that when he loses the next time, he will have to pretend that they never were friends. But before they had a rematch, Kagami flew back to Japan, not seeing Himuro again for 2 years.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 76, page 18 Story Introduction Round 2 Round 3 Quarter-finals Skill He is a naturally gifted player that trained in the States prior to coming back to Japan. Kagami is a very powerfull and fast player that is able to execute the fast cuts that can foil even Aomine. His reflexes are top-notch, as he is able to react extremely quick when facing a ball handling expert such as Aomine. He could also block Aomine's formless shot due to his reflexes and sheer skill. Even though his skill in undeniably strong, in regular matches, he is still being held back by Kuroko. He relies on Kuroko a lot and could be thinking that he has to join up with him to defeat the Generation of Miracles. That is what keeps him incomplete, what is hindering his potential. Only when Kagami isn't relying on Kuroko, even more, when Kagami must help Kuroko, he can drag out his full potential and become even stronger.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 121, page 11 When this happens, his jumping power becomes even more great and his overall abilities are greatly heightend. His skill becomes similar to Aomine's, somehow imitating his flexible streetball. Another reason for his sudden peak in ability, is the control of his animal instinct.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 123, page 8 This instinct enables him to play purely on feeling and greatly enhance his five senses, making his reflexes and speed top notch. This only occured in the match against Tōō High. Jumping Power Kagami blocks Dad anime.png|Kagami blocks Papa Mbaye Siki, a player who is 10 cm taller than him Kagami's dunk vs Shutoku WC.png|Kagami's dunk above Shūtoku's centers, Ōtsubo and Kimura Kagami blocks Midorima.png|Kagami blocks Midorima's shot Kagami dunks over Murasakibara.png|Kagami flies over Murasakibara While he is a powerful all-around player, Kagami's unique skill lies in his ability to jump to great heights. This skill facilitates not only his most common move, the dunk, but also allows him to defend well against taller players; he even uses it to break Midorima's perfect shooting. When he makes a jumpshot, he also stays in the air longer than the blocker, making it quasi unblockable.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 32, page 8 While he generally jumps with his left leg in order to allow him the use of his more dexterous right arm, his right is far stronger, allowing him to touch the top of the backboard as opposed to just hitting the ring.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 61, page 12 The drawback to this ability is that, like certain members of the Generation of Miracles, his body is still too underdeveloped. Thus prolonged use of his jumping prowess can cause damage to his body. Having trained extensively since the Interhigh school championships, he can now dunk from the free-throw line, a feat that may have put him on a level with the Generation of Miracles.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 83, page 15 He is also able to jump from far away in a difficult position and still be able to block a shot. Self alley-oop A normal alley-oop is when a team-mate throws the ball up high and the scoring player catches the ball and dunks it. Kagami has found a way to do this by himself, that is instead of receiving the ball by passing, shooting the ball himself, grabbing and dunking the ball when it misses.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 28, page 10 & 11 This was a response to Midorima's shooting spree in Seirin's match against Shūtoku High. He tried this again in the match against Tōō High, but was screened out by Susa, Kagami being unable to reach the goal.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 44, page 6 This is also the one obvious weakness of the skill. Lane up A lane up is a dunk from the free-throw line. Kagami had the ability to dunk normally and very high, but in the Winter Cup, against Josei High, he ended the game by breaking through his defense, jumping from the free-throw line and dunking.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 83, page 12 A lane up is very difficult, because being able to reach the basket after jumping such a distance is only possible with an extra-ordinary jumping strength, the kind that Kagami possesses. Meteor Jam A new dunk Kagami created to counter Murasakibara's height. Kagami uses his jumping power (although while in the Zone) and jumps from the free-throw line, like with his lane up. But instead of jumping straight to reach the basket, Kagami chooses for height. This way, he out-jumps Murasakibara and is able to launch the ball through the basket. Kagami's way of throwing the ball directly into the ring is similar to a meteor crashing into earth (hence the name). Vanishing Drive Kuroko's Vanshing Drive is in fact a collaboration with Kagami. While Kuroko is able to pass his opponent's field of vision by bending over and moving in a cross-diagonal move, Kagami makes the misdirection a whole by purposely drawing the attention from the opponent to him, away from Kuroko. This makes it able to perform a successful Vanishing Drive. More details about the Vanishing Drive can be found here Tactical battle In Seirin's match against Tōō in the Winter Cup, Kagami displayed a never before seen skill, a high level tactical battle. This is a highly realistic simulation of a basketball one-on-one in ones minds by reading his opponents subtle feints or moves. This is only possible when the player possesses a skill to accurately read the opponent's strength and movements.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 117, page 12 Kagami used this to play a simulation of a one-on-one against Aomine and accurately determine that he would lose. Zone Zone is a state of being that Kagami accesses when he was under the pressure of losing to Tōō again and wanted to protect everyone against the ace of GoM, Aomine. Under this influence, he is "in the zone", which means that nobody else can stop him unless he or she is in the Zone as well. When a person is in the Zone, some sort of sparks or currents of electricity seem to gather in the player's eyes, indicating that the individual has entered the Zone and gained his full potential as a basketball player. When Kagami is in the Zone, his reflexes, speed and especially jumping power are greatly augmented. Kuroko Kagami alley-oop A move that Kuroko and Kagami often execute. One of the opponents tries to pass, but Kuroko intercepts the ball. He smacks the ball onto the ground in the direction of the basket. Kagami jumps high in the sky, grabs the ball and dunks it in. They have first showed this in the match against Shinkyō AcademyKuroko no Basuke chapter 15, page 4, 5 & 6 and did it again in the game against Seihō High.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 22, page 7 & 8 Pressure defense ]]At their match against Shinkyō Academy; Kagami had to defend against Papa Mbaye Siki, a foreign player who is 10 cm taller than him. Before the match Riko had Mitobe learn Kagami how to defend against a player taller than yourself. This technique is simply putting a lot pressure on the regular defense, with the thought "I won't let you play as you want" in your head. When a player is pressured like this, he will experience playing a lot harder and won't get ready as easily.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 14, page 14 Tanimura called this pressure killing intent.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 14, page 15 So far, Kagami only had to use this against Dad. Relationships Tetsuya Kuroko Tatsuya Himuro Alexandra Garcia Generation of Miracles *Ryōta Kise *Shintarō Midorima *Daiki Aomine Seirin team Other *Tomoki Tsugawa Trivia *On the first character poll, Kagami ranked 3rd, with 1116 votes. *He went down to 4th place on the second poll, with 1036 votes. *Apart from basketball, his skills also include walking on his hands.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 40, page 17 *Kagami has been given the nickname Baka-gami (lit. idiot-gami, freely translated as Kagamidiot), due to his simple-mindedness and short temper. *His birthday is August 2, making him a Leo, and his bloodtype is A. *Kagami does travelling when he is running along with Kise in the first opening. References Navigation Category:Characters Category:Players Category:Seirin High Category:PF